One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant violas in Richmond by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Violas

Frost tolerance for violas:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Violas do well in cold which means that you can get them planted much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Richmond is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant violas and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your violas may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your violas indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Richmond. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Richmond it frosts late in the year after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your violas if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Richmond

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Richmond.